A methodological problem runs through the plot. It is a twofold problem: first, how Marianne becomes aware of a source or a witness; and, second, how she reaches said source or witness.
The variety of sources ranges from administrative documents to private correspondence. Each type requires a grounded way of approach: an academic text is not likely to be accessed via the same channels as a medical report, for example. The written sources merge with oral information from eyewitnesses, and the variety here is even greater, including different social ranks and age groups, persons physically present or absent, living or deceased, etc. It is a complicated network of human and institutional relations in the given historical context, a real challenge to an author.
Thus, how should Marianne get information about an event having took place in a distant castle many years ago? In this chapter, my choice was to use the recall of Ella the maid. She is a purely fictional figure whose Bohemian origin serves to make her a useful informant. Witnessing the local landlady’s burial during her childhood is a situation in which a young maid can be easily imagined. The description of the chapel of the Schwarzenbergs in St Veit church, Krumau, as well as the funeral procedure itself are authentic.
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